Recruiting Insider: February 1, 2009 - February 7, 2009

I'm not sure the answer, but which team did the best job recruiting the Washington area this football season? A) Maryland. The Terps picked up nine locals (11 if you count two 2008 grads who spent this year at prep school) and landed two key players in All-Met CB Travis...

Colleague Matt Stanmyre sends this report: Stonewall Jackson running back Damien Thigpen signed with UCLA today, ending a tumultuous two-week span for the speedster from Manassas. Thigpen orally committed to Tennessee last year, but his status with the program was in question when Coach Phillip Fulmer resigned and was replaced...

Colleague Katie Carrera files this dispatch: Meade quarterback Ray Cotton signed his letter-of-intent to Mississippi, ending what became a whirlwind few months of recruiting for Cotton after he decommitted from Auburn when Tommy Tuberville resigned as Tigers head coach. "We're really just ready for this to all be over," Raymond...

Colleague Alan Goldenbach filed this dispatch: Sitting in front of about 20 classmates and a dozen coaches and school officials, Gaithersburg defensive end Sean Stanley wore a navy sweater vest and awkward grin as he signed his letter-of-intent with Penn State. Sure, the two-time All-Met appreciated having a bunch of...

Oops. I missed it. In addition to Jelani Jenkins putting on a Florida hat, so did all of his family members standing behind him. From Jelani: "It's a great program. I went down to visit. I felt comfortable with the coaches. Great weather. Had a list of factors ... and...

Good Counsel AD/Master of Ceremonies Pat Bates is working his way down the five Falcons headed for I-A/I-AA football scholarships. Add offensive lineman Devin Gordon-Hamm to the list, he's going to Bucknell. The others: RB Caleb Porzel (Maryland), CB Mike Wallace (Penn State) and K Mark Hamilton (Villanova). It's a...

More on this in a bit, but today's big news is that All-Met offensive lineman Pete White of St. John's this morning picked Maryland over Miami and Tennessee. Obviously, White, a four-year starter is a very talented player but his decision might be even more significant in that the Terps...

Yep, the big day is here. I'll be heading out soon to Good Counsel where Jelani Jenkins is expected to announce he will go to Florida. That ought to get the day started with a bang. I'll be updating here throughout the day with news and thoughts....

By my count, as I go over the list of locals ready to accept I-A and I-AA football scholarships -- a list with 112 members at the moment -- there are four key recruits yet to make their college choices publicly shown: Good Counsel All-Met linebacker Jelani Jenkins, who is...

What a long, strange recruiting road it has been for DeMatha quarterback Tom Chroniger. A two-year starter for the Stags, Chroniger early in the season committed to play for Eastern Michigan. Then he backed off that pledge and hoped to secure a scholarship offer to play in the ACC or...

Insider super/special correspondent Matt Stanmyre, files this dispatch: Stonewall Jackson senior running back Damien Thigpen will sign an letter-of-intent on Wednesday but it won't be to Tennessee, the school he verbally committed to last year. Thigpen's coach at Stonewall, Mike Dougherty, sent me an e-mail this morning, stating: "Damien Thigpen...

Some kind readers report seeing Gary Williams at DeMatha on Friday night to see the Stags one-point loss to Good Counsel. The Terrapins are involved with DeMatha junior forwards Victor Oladipo and Jerian Grant. Oladipo, a 6-5 high flyer, has a terrific upside and seems to have good court awareness....

All-Met running back Torrian Pace of Chantilly has found a home. He has committed to play for I-AA powerhouse Youngstown State. Although Pace racked up yards at a ridiculous clip this past season, college interest in him was tepid at best, with most recruiters taking a pass. The Penguins, however,...